Suicide Killer: The Manager

By Stone Rivers

There are times in every person's life when a decision must be made. Take the punch from the 8th grade bully or fight him. Allow a kid to be bullied in high school, let a drunk girl be taken away by "a friend" in college. All youngsters' decisions, but grow older, and things change. A lady in the office may be sexually harassed. A fellow you know, who is gay, might be set out among his peers. All this can or cannot be tolerated or addressed. That is entirely up to the individual. One can simply walk away and nobody would bat an eye or think twice.

A cop, Agent, Trooper or deputy cannot just ignore things. At one time, every one of these people raised a hand and said "I swear" so those folks cannot just walk away. They stand and deliver because it is right. Standalone sometimes and pay the price. Divorce, internal affairs, or death. That's the choices, but they manage to do the right thing every day. It is not just the job, but service to the community that drives most of these professionals. As hokey as it might sound to those who don't understand, they live by two words - protect and serve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887310442

Book preview

Suicide Killer

THE MANAGER

STONE RIVERS

Copyright © 2022 Stone Rivers

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2022

ISBN 979-8-88731-043-5 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88731-044-2 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

To all those who work the afternoon shifts, 3:00–11:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to midnight

Contents

Introduction

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Afterword

Introduction

I have only been to the state of California on one occasion, and upon my return home, I began to pray that the state moves to the political right, where law enforcement is appreciated, respected, and rewarded. To those who wear any badge in the Golden State, your dedication to your work does not go unnoticed by the rest of the country. Thank you.

I debated writing the above paragraph, assuming it would offend the left and bring unwanted consequences to myself. Early in my career, I had a quiet captain who would appear like a cat at crime scenes—quietly and unnoticed. He would stand and observe, rarely—if ever—interjecting himself into the call. When he did see something that needed attention, he always followed the chain of command down. He would discreetly pull the supervisor aside and very quietly pass on his information. I thought of him when I was deciding to write those words about the great state of California. He once told me to never be ashamed to tell the truth to authority—just do it with dignity and respect. I stand by what I write here.

This story is fictional. I have never met a Kern County deputy sheriff and have only visited Bakersfield for a couple weeks. In that short time, I grew to love the area and, for whatever reason, settled on this location for my book. I hold no ill will or negative thoughts about the county or any employee. If you read this and are offended at portions of the story, it was not my intention to rile anyone up. This is purely fiction, hopefully to entertain the reader.

I have known law enforcement officers from across the country and several countries outside of the United States. I have found that most of us share some similar traits. The job is just a job, doing the right thing is important, and nobody I have ever met straps on the gun belt and pins on the badge to intentionally harm anyone. The bad apples and lost tempers aside, generally cops are just like the public they serve. They love their families, coach ball games, go to school board meetings, and grill out with their neighbors. On the job, they are mental health workers, counselors, referees, and domestic relations experts. They are expected to drive ninety miles per hour and not hit anyone or anything, calmly take being called the vilest names, and being photographed every time they get out of their cruisers on a call. All this—and make the decision in half a second to shoot a suspect or get shot themselves. This just scratches the surface of what it takes to protect and serve, and this is also why these professionals are so unique.

If you are a civilian and have never met a law enforcement officer, I encourage you to go on a ride along with your local department or go out of your way to just meet a copper. You will find that these men and women are exceptional people who currently do an exceptionally hard job.

1

He was alone in an office, a government office without comfort. Painted cinder block walls; steel desk, steel chair, and steel file cabinets; 12×12 linoleum tiles on a concrete floor (probably containing asbestos). Alone in this room, physically alone, sitting in the dark. Upon entering this space, opening the office door, he did not turn on the fluorescent light bulbs concealed in the drop tile ceiling. Glancing toward the desk in the dim light creeping in from the bright hallway, he closed the door and was enveloped by the darkness. No windows in this block walled office. He walked to the desk, set his satchel on top of it, and sat in the cold straight-backed steel chair with a thin cushion on the seat.

He liked the dark—no, he loved the darkness. It offered invisibility, refuge, and safety all at once. He learned that darkness was a safe zone as a child. His mother was mentally ill and paranoid. One minute she was full of maternal love and affection, and the next, she was raging in anger at him over unknown rules he had